Carbon Capture – A sustainable solution?

Carbon Capture technologies are advancing, but is it possible for carbon dioxide to be safely stored underground?

Carbon capture consists of three main steps: trapping and separating CO2 from other gases, transporting the captured CO2 to a storage area away from the atmosphere, be it deep underground or at the depths of oceans.

This process might seem like a cure-all for humanity’s emission problem, but it needs to be coupled with other efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. The process has not been occurring long enough to have a full analysis of the environmental impacts. The problem lies primarily in the principle. Capturing carbon dioxide emissions and storing them underground will not teach any society to emit less from the beginning.

It costs a lot of energy to store carbon dioxide, some estimates indicate up to 40% of a power station’s capacity. Storing carbon dioxide under the oceans or ground can’t be a very safe idea. It’s hard to say what would happen with a gas leak in a system buried under ground. If a carbon dioxide leak happened in sub-ocean locations, it could potentially accelerate the already occurring acidification.

Storing carbon dioxide will not solve the world wide emission problem. The process may help, but it could potentially compromise many ecosystems. The most efficient way to reduce emissions is to put new policies in place to reduce carbon dioxide release.

For more information: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/carbon-capture.htm